Rodeway Inn Hotel

We stayed for ten nights at the Rodeway Inn and enjoyed every minute of it. The rooms are basic, but spacious and had a fridge and microwave which made things a lot easier for us to grab snacks before going out to or coming back from the amusement parks. Everything was so close to the hotel that it took us no time to get anywhere and meant we didn't waste our holiday sitting in traffic. We even had a great view of Universal Islands of Adventure from our window (which was particularly good in the evening when everything was lit up). We also got two free buffet breakfasts with our booking, and were well worth it as the food we had was a lot better than some of the other places on I-Drive. We also had a free meal at the Shogun Japanese restaurant, which was superb food with excellent service. I would most certainly stay here again, and will visit the Shogun restaurant any chance I get!

I love this hotel!!! I have been here three years in a row and I'm going back this year. The price is unbeatable. The rooms are spacious and full of conveniencies (coffee maker, hair dryer, microwave and safe, who could ask for more?) Courteous and prompt service, if the girls at the main counter are not too busy they make for delightful conversation and they can answer most of your questions. The hotel is close to all attractions and there is complementary transportation to most of them. I LOVE THIS HOTEL!!!!!

Having just spent the last night of an otherwise excellent 2 week fly-drive in this hotel, I really am wondering if there aren't two Rodeway Inns opposite Wet'N Wild on I-drive.... Here's a review of the one we stayed in. First the good points; 1.The room had a fridge, safe and microwave 2.The staff weren't the worst or most unhelpful we'd ever come across Now the bad; 1. The hotel is right, and I mean RIGHT, next to I4 - one of the main motorways through Orlando. Now you might reasonably expect some road noise because of the location, HOWEVER the room we stayed in had little or no soundproofing, and consequently the constant hum of traffic kept us awake most of the night - it really did feel like we were trying to sleep on the hard shoulder. 2. THERE ARE NO CURTAINS IN THE ROOM!!! (not that this'll matter though 'cos the road noise will keep you awake!) All rooms appeared to be fitted with the same sort of ill-fitting blind, ours had a nice two inch gap down the side so that blew any chance of a lie in once we finally got to sleep. 3. The room and the corridors had a musty smell to them (despite the fact that housekeeping made the room up whilst we waited to check-in). The bathroom, though sort of clean, looked like it had seen better days (about 1983 I think) 4. Most of the guests in the hotel were English, and consequently it had a "Brits abroad" feel to it. I don't know whether there was a shortage of facilities for kids, but the only entertainment the ones on our floor could find was to run up and down the corridor shouting and banging doors until 12.30 at night and from 7.30 the next morning. Lessons to be learnt then.... 1. ALWAYS ask if you can see the room before you check in. We didn't complain about any of this to the front desk, because there's not a lot anyone could have done about it ("Please can you move our room 2 miles away, as WE ARE GOING DEAF FROM THE NOISE!!!!") 2. Stay at the Clarion Hotel just off I-drive instead. We spent the first 6 nights of the holiday there and it was much newer, cleaner and QUIETER!! We did try to book it for the last night but it was full. It was only the same price as the Rodeway, and OK the room didn't have a fridge or microwave, but really, folks, you need to way up how much that means compared to a decent nights sleep.....

Having taken a look at other hotels on I-Drive and spoken to friends, I'd suggest you spend a little more and stay elsewhere. It was ok, but was let down by unhelpful and uniformed staff (the language barrier didn't help) which led to a few problems for us. The rooms were kept clean and tidy, although a small niggle was that for the entire two week stay the vending machines on our floor remained out of stock, and the ice machine was broken. The hotel shop is expensive - they seem to have taken their pricing structure from UK motorway service stations ;-). We had arranged a late check-out on the final day. Sadly this hadn't got through to the maids where were hell-bent on turning us out of our room early. Again, the language barrier made an argument all the more futile. There were some staff of note: a very nice lady serving in the breakfast buffet and a friendly barman in the pub. The location is ok, although if you aren't driving and take the free shuttles, it seems to take an age to get to Disney. Oddly, when we stayed at Kissimmee we found this much less of a problem. I-Drive is interesting even if it does resemble Blackpool's Golden Mile for its gift shops! My advice to anyone would be to travel further afield once the novelty of eating in everyone restaurant chain within walking distance had worn off! The low cost shuttle bus was of great use here. To recap, it was ok. But again, having spoken to friends and looking at surrounding hotels, I'd spend a little more and have a better experience elsewhere. Just my opinion :-)

Arrived at the hotel and found the reception staff polite, friendly and willing to help. The room had all the amenities I wanted and with fridge, microwave and vcr player in the room it had more than most. I had a slight problem with vcr which was fixed the same day as i reported it. I cant understand anyone moaning about the hotel at all. For the price you pay you more than get your money's worth and all the staff I spoke with at the hotel were incredibly helpful. The location of the Hotel is superb and I recommend the black angus steakhouse for a great meal. If you are looking for a great bargain on I-drive then book this hotel as I am sure it wont disappoint.

The location was great. Within walking distance you will find WetNWild, a nice miniture golf, many shops. Walgreens is convienently located on the corner and easy access to highway 4. Universal Studios is only a few minute drive. The bathroom is very narrow with the sink outside the bathroom very close to the entry door. There are sliding glass doors in the room but do not open at all. A nice feature of the room is an in room safe, microwave and small refrigerator. The staff was friendly but had a wide variety of nationalities that worked there so it made communication a little difficult. If asking for directions FORGET IT. You really need to know exactly where you are driving in Orlando because the highways are VERY unfriendly!!!!!!!!!! The elevators in the hotel run a little slow. Beware people that like soft mattresses!! The beds felt like sleeping on boards. In all, you get exactly what you pay for but the location of the hotel is its greatest asset. Overall, we had clean towels and the bed was made each day.

Hotel Room space: Approx. 200 sq ft. Amenities: Free local phone calls, swimming pool, ample parking space, free shuttle to Wet N Wild, Universal Studios Theme Parks, and Sea World, small fridge, coffeemaker, microwave and 25-inch color TV. Hotel also has its own dining area, a bar with pool tables, small grocery store and in-house japanese restaurant. My friend and I stayed there from February 4-8 2004. The hotel is located in a very convenient area on International Drive; a ten-minute drive to the Universal Studios theme parks, five-minute walking distance to Wet N Wild Water Park, public transportation such as the Lynx bus system and International Drive trolleys run by the hotel, nearby are a number of chain eateries such as Ponderosa, Sizzler, Starbucks, Kentucky Fried Chicken as well as several large souvenir shops with great prices. Don't use this hotel as a base for the Disney World Theme Parks because it is far from the Lake Buena Vista area and the shuttle will cost you $12 per person. This is a budget hotel but a very good budget hotel. I found the front staff to be very helpful and pleasant (they gave us a lot of coupon booklets for the many restaurants and attractions in the area which came in very handy). Our room on the second floor was clean and spacious although the decor is pleasantly basic. The second floor was painted in a peachy caribbean color with art-deco sconces. The double beds had foam pillows and adequate mattresses. The room also had a small table and two serviceable chairs. The carpet looks worn but not frayed or worn out. The small bathroom is set up so that the sink is placed outside of a basic white bathroom which consisted of a toilet and bathtub with bathmat. I liked this setup because I could wash my hands or face while my friend used the bathroom and vice versa. The water pressure is great. The hotel provides soap and plenty of towels but not shampoo or conditioner. When we first came in, the room smelled slightly musty but we figured that was normal because of Florida weather, as soon as we turned the air conditioner on the musty smell went away. The hotel encourages you to eat breakfast in-house by providing you with coupons which we did use. The breakfast is a buffet and gives you a choices of eggs, bacon, sausages, pancakes or french toast, several cereals, and fruits. The waitress comes by with coffee (or juice if you want it). My friend also tried breakfast at the Ponderosa across the street but she liked the hotel breakfast better because the pancakes were fluffier. The diningroom decor is also pleasantly basic and clean. The hotel has two game rooms which came in handy for the kids in the hotel. We also had dinner at the in-house japanese restaurant (yes the hotel gave us a coupon which we used), Shogun, where the chef does the fancy slicing, dicing, and cooking in front of you. The restaurant is very good, I would recommend it and also suggest that you make reservations on a Friday or Saturday night, which we were glad we did and avoided a 45-minute wait. The pool is small but heated and clean. The cleaning staff was pleasant and did a good job. The complimentary shuttle to Universal Studios Theme Parks was very convenient for us. The small fridge and microwave was a great convenience since we bought some groceries nearby; we were able to bring cold sodas with us into the theme parks which helped cut down on the expenses and store leftovers we had from the restaurants. The hotel also has a washing machine and dryer on every other floor; it's $1.75 to wash and $1.75 to dry for 30 minutes, detergent costs $1. We were satisfied with everything. There seems to be a large number of british people staying here judging from the number of times I heard the different accents, in fact I think there were more british tourists than Americans staying in the hotel during the time that I stayed. For $36 a night I felt I got more than what I paid for and I had extra money left over to buy more souvenirs and eat at nice restaurants in the theme parks. If you expect plush digs you are looking in the wrong place and shouldn't expect it from this hotel but if you're looking to stay in a clean hotel basically to sleep while you are out most of the time to enjoy the area attractions, then this is the place for you.

You get what you pay for. Clean and quiet. But located near lots of restaurants and gift shops on Int'l. Bathroom not too great. Small sink outside bathroom. Inside bathroom was a tub and toilet where you couldn't hardly move to dry yourself off. But hey if you just want a place to sleep and shower, this is it. I would give it a little better rating if the horrid orange color scheme would be changed. Ask for the stamp program, after 10 stays you get one night free. Be sure to book on rodeway inn website only, rates are better there. Don't pay more than $38/night. There are better options if you want to pay more.

We stayed at the Rodeway Inn for 3 nights. It was clean and the staff was friendly. It seemed a little outdated, however it was still worth every dime. The location on International Bvld. was decent with little travel time to several theme parks. I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

We've just stayed at the Rodeway for 2 weeks. One word describes this place - EXCELLENT!! It cost us only £17 a night through Expedia, and for this I was expecting a cheap American motel. Wrong - it is a really nice hotel! Hotel itself - very clean, we were on the 7th floor, floors 1-7 are non-smoking, 8-9 are smoking, and there is a seperate block with external corridors which is all smoking (4 floors). Fridge, Microwave, very comfortable beds, TV/VCR, very clean room and a fantastic view over Universal to the left and Wet and Wild to the right. It could get a bit fusty first thing in the morning but if you leave the excellent A/C on it's absolutely fine. Corridors only smelt of smoke on the 8th/9th floors, all the others were fine. Bathroom a little small, but hey this isn't the Ritz! Location I couldn't fault - right in the centre of International Drive with an I-RIDE trolley stop outside the hotel, Wet and Wild just across the road, Universal Studios is a 5 minute ride on the free shuttle, or about a 15 minute walk with sidewalk all the way (not so ideal on a hot day!) Ponderosa/Sizzler/Bennigans just across the street, with all you can eat breakfast for $3.99 each, Black Angus Steakhouse 5 minute walk up the road with fantastic meals for about $10 each. The I-RIDE is fantastic and gets you up and down I-Drive for 75c each trip, or do as we did and get a 14 day pass for $14.00. Well worth it, you can hop on and off whenever you want! Tip - don't buy food from the supermarkets next door to the hotel - very hiked up prices. Instead, get the I-RIDE down to stop 47 right at the bottom end (about a 15 minute ride) and there is a Publix supermarket, with low prices on almost everything. Alternatively, get off at stop 22 and walk down Sand Lake, underneath the I-4 and about 10 minutes on the left is another one. This is a bit of a trek with shopping though, so we preferred stop 47! The maids hardly spoke English, but then we didn't really need to talk to them! Pool really nice but gets a little busy in the afternoons! Overall great, staff really nice, couldn't fault a thing, well worth every penny and should be at least a 3 star place!! Noel.